Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

YANGON, Oct 2 (NNN-MNA) – Myanmar police have exposed a total of 191 human trafficking cases across the country, in the first nine months of this year, according to figures released by the Anti-Trafficking Police Force today (Wednesday).

From Jan to Sept this year, 556 traffickers were charged in connection with the cases and 279 people were victimised.

Altogether 25 people, including seven children, were victimised while 54 traffickers were charged, in connection with 15 human trafficking cases in Sept alone.

SEOUL, Oct 2 (NNN-YONHAP) – This year’s 18th typhoon Mitag is approaching the southern regions of South Korea, the country’s weather service said today.

The mid-strength typhoon is forecast to make a landfall in waters near the country’s southwest port city of Mokpo, at about midnight, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The maximum wind speed is reported at 29 metres per second, with its central pressure of 980 hecto-pascals. The strength of the typhoon is expected to be weaker when it arrives at the southern region.

BEIJING (AP) — Military planners in Washington and elsewhere will be taking note of new missile technology displayed by China, particularly a hypersonic ballistic nuclear missile believed capable of breaching all existing anti-missile shields deployed by the U.S. and its allies.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired a ballistic missile from the sea on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, a suggestion that it may have tested an underwater-launched missile for the first time in three years ahead of a resumption of nuclear talks with the United States this weekend.

HONG KONG (AP) — Heads bowed and dressed in black, schoolmates of a teenage demonstrator shot at close range in the chest by a Hong Kong riot officer condemned police tactics and demanded accountability Wednesday.

The shooting Tuesday during widespread anti-government demonstrations on China’s National Day marked a fearsome escalation in Hong Kong’s protest violence. The 18-year-old is the first known victim of police gunfire since the protests began in June. His condition in the hospital was described by the government as stable on Wednesday.

1 October 2019; AFP: North Korea and the United States will hold working-level nuclear talks on Saturday, Pyongyang said, signalling the resumption of a dialogue process that has been effectively stalled since the collapse of a summit in February.

The two sides agreed to have "preliminary contact" on October 4 and hold working-level negotiations the following day, the North's vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rebounded on Tuesday on reports that production at the world’s largest oil producers fell during the third quarter, although a resumption in Saudi supply and demand concerns continued to keep a lid on prices.

December Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 25 cents, or 0.42% to $59.50 a barrel by 0657 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 for November was up 25 cents, or 0.46%, at $54.32 a barrel.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - A bridge collapsed into a harbor in northeastern Taiwan on Tuesday, injuring ten people as it crushed several fishing boats, with six crew feared trapped, authorities said.

Hundreds of rescuers scrambled to use cranes, an excavator and other equipment to free the boats, while divers scoured the waters for those trapped.

“The bridge collapsed at around 9:30 a.m. while an oil tanker vehicle was on it, setting the vehicle on fire,” said Shih I-chun, the secretary to the mayor of the port town of Suao, the site of the collapse.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean fighter jets conducted a patrol flight on Tuesday over islands at the center of a bitter dispute with Japan, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said at an event marking the founding of the South Korean military.

South Korea showcased newly acquired F-35 stealth fighter jets to mark Armed Forces Day as Moon tried to allay concerns that his policy of engagement with North Korea would weaken the South’s commitment to defense.

HONG KONG (AP) — Police used pepper spray to break up a brief scuffle Tuesday between Beijing supporters and a small group of pro-democracy protesters who were marching in Hong Kong on the 70th anniversary of the founding of Communist China.

The semi-autonomous city’s government marked the anniversary in a morning ceremony on what is expected to be a day of protests demanding democratic reforms. Posters in the city where many worry the Beijing central government is eroding Hong Kong’s promised freedoms are calling for the Oct. 1 anniversary to be marked as “A Day of Grief.”